Vows to "vigorously defend" law in court President Bush Signs Historic Ban on Partial-Birth Abortions.

Editor's note: As we went to press, the federal Department of Justice on November 10, 2003, urged a federal district judge in New York to adopt expedited procedures in reviewing a legal challenge to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The Department asked the judge to "consolidate" two usually separate steps: A hearing on a request for a preliminary injunction against the law (filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the National Abortion Federation), and a full trial on the merits on any factual issues pertaining to the law.

If the judge grants the government's request, it would result in a trial in four months - - far faster than the year or more that would be common under non-expedited procedures.

NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson commented, "We commend the Bush Administration for pushing for expedited judicial review, in order to allow the ban on the brutal partial-birth abortion method to take effect as soon as possible. Every day that passes is another day that premature infants, mostly in the fifth and sixth months, will be mostly delivered alive before being painfully killed by the puncturing of their skulls and the removal of their brains."

Vowing that his administration would "vigorously defend this law against any who would try to overturn it in the courts," President George W. Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 into law November 5. The signing, which took place at the Ronald Reagan Building, was greeted with waves of applause and thunderous cheers from the more than 400 pro-life activists assembled for the historic event.

NRLC Executive Director David N. O'Steen, Ph.D., hailed passage as evidence that "pro-lifers are winning the battle for life step by step." He added, "President Bush signed a bill that pro-abortion President Bill Clinton vetoed twice. It makes a huge difference who occupies the White House."

Pro-life stalwart Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) echoed Dr. O'Steen's remarks. "I've been in this movement 30 years," he told the New York Times. "And all of us would have loved to see more progress sooner. But we realize that dealing with the high bar of a Supreme Court decision is a herculean task. We've all become dogged realists."

In a speech carried live on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News, President Bush said, "For years, a terrible form of violence has been directed against children who are inches from birth, while the law looked the other way. Today, at last, the American people and our government have confronted the violence and come to the defense of the innocent child."